Course finder

Semester 2

Enterprise Consultancy Project (BUST10120)

Subject

Business Studies

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

4

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed at least 4 Business courses at grade B or above. This MUST INCLUDE one course equivalent to an Entrepreneurship course at intermediate level. This course cannot be taken alongside BUST08015 Innovation and Entrepreneurship or BUST08053 Innovation and Enterprise. We will only consider University/College level courses.

Course Summary

This project based course provides an opportunity to apply, in an integrated fashion, the knowledge and skills acquired elsewhere in their degree programme, in the context of a new small but growing business.

Course Description

This project based course provides an opportunity to apply, in an integrated fashion, the knowledge and skills acquired elsewhere in their degree programme, in the context of a new small but growing business. It aims to develop inter-personal, analytical and presentation skills; to give detailed insights into the challenges and problems of a growing new business; and to gain practical knowledge in a live company of how these problems may be overcome and growth successfully generated. There will be a period of formal workshops and preparation at the start of the course. These will introduce consulting, the consulting process and the skills and tasks necessary to successfully undertake a short-term consulting assignment in a new growth orientated business. The central part of the course involves a consultancy assignment undertaken for the owner-manager of a new local business, to be recruited before the course starts. The businesses will be chosen under the direction of the course co-ordinator, who will also agree the briefs with the companies in general terms. Students will be assigned to teams of between three to six members. It then becomes the responsibility of the team to negotiate the details of the project with the client, to negotiate resources (such as office space, telephone, faxes etc.), to schedule meetings and to produce, and present, such interim reports as the client deems necessary. The course will start with workshops on the consultancy process, research methodology, and advanced small business growth. Part two starting on Week 3 will be to conduct the consultancy research for the chosen company. Clinics will be provided to advise and mentor the students. Part 3 starting on Week 9 will conclude the project by providing workshops on presentation skills, report writing, and presentations to the companies. PART 1 Week 1 Introduction to the course What is consultancy? Special issues of consulting in small businesses The consultancy process. Special issues in planning the growth of a new small firm. Week 2 Consulting for small businesses and new ventures. Week 3 Group work dynamics workshop + Late afternoon/evening session - meeting the companies and discussing the briefs. PART 2 The consultancy projects During this period the group must maintain regular contact with the company, and with the course tutors at the project clinics. Week 4 Process consultancy and client management. Week 5 Understanding and researching the business environment. Week 6 Presentation Skills and Report Writing. Week 7 Project Clinics PART 3 Concluding the Project Week 8 Guest Speaker Week 9 Times to fit into convenience of companies. Presentations to company. Draft report to be ready by the start of this week . Week 10 Final Report to be handed in to companies and for final assessment. ETHICS All research conducted in the project must be monitored by the course co-ordinators to ensure it conforms to the ethical standards of the University. Student Learning Experience Clinics will review progress and give the tutor an opportunity to offer suggestions and advice on any problems relating to the conduct of the assignment. It is not necessary for every member of the team to attend each clinic BUT at least one team member will be expected to report in. Additional seminars on group work dynamics have now been included in week 4 and these are designed to prepare students better for working in groups.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0% 45% Group Report to the Company - peer moderated 15% Presentation to the Company - peer moderated 10% Individual Reflective diary 30% Individual essay based on the consultancy experience 1. Group Report At the end of the consulting assignment each student TEAM is expected to produce a consultancy report. This must be a quality, typed and bound management report capable of professional dissemination of findings to the client. Ideally it should be informative but brief (no more than 20 pages of main report, though appendices can be added as required). It should contain: i) an executive summary ii) a clear description of the brief and its background iii) the approach taken iv) the work/research carried out v) the findings vi) conclusions vii) recommendations 2. Presentation The written report will form the basis for a formal presentation made to the client company at the end of the assignment. Each member of the team has to contribute to the presentation and answer questions. The overall presentation mark will mostly be based on the group effort, but there is also a mark for individual contribution worth 5% of the total marks. The presentations should also follow the core structure of the report. The Diary This should be a weekly log of activities kept by each student, with reflective comments on what major problems were encountered and how they were dealt with. The diary should be countersigned by the other team members.

view the timetable and further details for this course